Ibanez RG350EXZ Restoration: Part Two

Quick Links:    Part One | Part Two | Part Three

In Part One, we examined the main features of the Ibanez RG350EXZ. Now, in this post, I'll talk about what was done to restore this guitar. We'll begin with the electronics, then. The pickups were in working condition; albeit a little cruddy. The control cavity components were totally shot, however. 

As can be seen in the pics, the pots, switch and output jack were either rusty, corroded, encrusted in salt; or a combination of all three. This being the case, the pickups were cleaned and polished to best of my ability; with extra care taken so as not to rub off the silk-screened characters. Following this, new Alpha A500K pots, five-way switch, poly 0.033uF cap and Neutrik/Rean NYS229 jack socket were wired in.

As for the Edge Zero II and ZPS3Fe, both were covered in grime; crud and dust. The entire tremolo system was dismantled, and serviced separately. The Edge Zero II was first subjected to electrolysis in a sodium bicarbonate bath, and after a close encounter with a heat gun; disassembled, lubed, and reassembled. The ZPS3Fe was taken apart, cleaned and lubed component by component; and finally put together again.

Basically all the hardware components were given a good cleaning, lube job and polish; as they were in a pitiful state. The objective was to save as many of the original components as possible. Sad to say, none of the pickguard or trem cavity screws were retained; as they were too corroded to be of any use.

Well, folks, that's about it for this post. Thanks for dropping by, and hope to see you again real soon. Stay safe, stay healthy; and God bless :)

 

 

OLP MM1F Restoration: Part Two

Quick Links: Part One | Part Two | Part Three

In the previous post, we took a brief look at what needed to be done in order to restore this OLP MM1F to gigging condition. And so, this post outlines just that. We'll begin with the pickups, then. A brand new DiMarzio DP151 PAF Pro® (neck) and DP155 The Tone Zone® (bridge) were wired in; coil splitting enabled by an NKK (Japan) DPDT switch. 

Complementing the upgrade were an Alpha A500K pot, three-way toggle switch; and Neutrik/Rean NYS229 output jack. Gavitt® single conductor braided shield cable was used for the master volume-output jack run. Other repairs/enhancements included a thorough cleaning and lube job for the hardware and Floyd Rose-licensed trem, a new "football" jack plate, hole plugging and sealing, fret dressing; and additional trem spring.

 

 

ESP LTD M-10 Electric Guitar: Part Two

Quick Links: Part One | Part Two | Part Three

In the previous post, we took a long, hard look at this ESP LTD M-10. Yes, there was lots that needed to be done, and in this post; I'll show you exactly what I did. The very first step was putting 0000 steel wool, 3M Flexible Polishing Papers and Autosol Metal Polish to work. Of course, there was also lots of elbow grease involved.

The most challenging task was separating the frozen bridge stud from its bushing. I'm glad to report that alternately heating the bushing with a mini-blowtorch and "shock cooling" in water finally did the trick. Thorough scrubbing with a steel-bristled brush got rid of any corrosion and caked-on gunk, and after a good lubing; everything was fine and dandy.

The pickups? Yes, they were actually Belcats in disguise. On the plus side, the pickup and control cavities were adequately shielded with conductive shielding paint. However, as I've noticed on other ESP LTDs; grounding tabs were missing. That being the case, I wired in new ground tabs terminating in the control cavity wall; with a jumper cable soldered to the back of a pot. Also added a piece of conductive self-adhesive copper tape to ensure good contact with the foil shield on the back of the control cavity cover.

New electronics comprised new Alpha A500K pots, a 3-way switch, 0.022uF poly film cap; and Neutrik/Rean NYS229 output jack. I've tested the electronics sans neck and strings, and everything seems to be working well. Got a set of Ernie Ball Super Slinkys (009-042) at the ready for the next step; which should be restring and setup. But that will have to wait until tomorrow, at least. Till then, stay home, stay safe, wear a mask; and avoid crowded places.

Custom Neck-Through Tele Rehab: Part Two

Related Posts    

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

To date, I've completed the Tru-Oil refinish, fabrication of a control cavity cover, and slight neck pickup cavity enlargement to fit the new humbucker-sized P90 clone. Conductive shielding paint, copper foil and grounding tabs have also been utilized to reduce rogue interference as far as possible. 

I've also adjusted the neck pickup in its cavity for optimal string/polepiece alignment with the help of "dummy" low and high E strings. Electronics-wise, the guitar has been rewired with a new 3-way switch, Alpha A500K pots, poly film 0.022uF cap; and Neutrik/Rean NYS229 output jack. 

Everything works as it should, thankfully. All that's left now is to string this guitar up with a set of Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys (10-46) and do a full setup. I think I'll take care of that tomorrow; now it's time to take a break and listen to some Nat King Cole. Thanks for reading this, and I'll see you soon :)

TGM JPM100 Copy Needs an Overhaul

Here's a decent-looking HSH locking trem-equipped 6-stringer by TGM Guitars. A little investigation on the web tells me that it's a faithful copy of a 1997 Ibanez JPM100 P3 John Petrucci Signature Picasso electric guitar; save for the 5-way blade selector switch. No, I'm in no way promoting copy guitars. I do, however, appreciate that not everyone has the dinero to score a true-blue "branded" guitar. So, if a copy of their dream guitar is all they can afford; I'll humbly do my best to get it up to snuff.

This TGM came in for an overhaul, so to speak. The pickups and electronics had seen better days, the fretboard needed reconditioning, and the Floyd-Rose licensed locking trem was crying out for a thorough servicing. Turns out the middle pickup had a broken coil and magnet. I managed to replace it with an old vintage-output single coil I had lying around.

The trem and locking nut had a few parts that needed to be replaced. As luck would have it, the owner brought me two trems he'd salvaged from somewhere; so all I had to do was cannibalize them for the needed components. The TGM was also missing both its control and trem cavity covers. I DIY-ed suitable replacements from a piece of black pickguard material I had on hand.

There was just enough left in the budget for an electronics upgrade, so in went Alpha 500K pots, a five-way switch; ceramic disc tone cap; and Neutrik/Rean NYS229 output jack. Then, after reconditioning the fretboard, this TGM was strung with 9s and given the usual setup.

StewMac Delivers Yet Again

For the last couple of years, StewMac has been numero uno in my book whenever it comes to luthier tools and supplies. My latest order took less than a month to arrive via USPS First Class International Parcel. Thank you, StewMac :)

1983 Ibanez AR30 Restoration | Part Three

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

In Part One of this series, we took a look at the early stages of restoration work done on this 1983 Ibanez AR30. Then, in Part Two, the refinishing process was completed; and the AR30 left aside for a month. We are now at the electronics stage of the restoration process.

I've been provided with a pair of used PRS Dragon I humbuckers and a pair of mounting rings. The "Dragon Bass" is the neck humbucker, and the "Dragon Treble," the bridge. Unfortunately, neither of the seller's rings seem to fit the profile of the top correctly. In fact, the bottom of the neck mounting ring is completely flat. But I do have on hand a pair of Gibson pickup mounting rings: PRPR-015 (neck) and PRPR-025 (bridge). Yes, they seem to fit better than the ones supplied by the seller; so they'll be the ones I'll use.

Other than that, I've shielded the pickup and control cavities with conductive paint, and screwed in grounding tabs/wires where needed. I've also wired up a harness consisting of three Alpha A500K pots, 3-way toggle switch, K40Y-9 0.033uf tone cap; and Neutrik/Rean NYS229 output jack. Note that genuine Gavitt cloth push-back wire was used throughout. The original output jack plate also needed to be replaced as it was beyond saving; even after a thorough de-rusting.

The AR30 has been strung with Elixir Nanoweb 10s, set up, tuned; and put through its paces with the help of my trusty Fender Champion 40. By the way, here are two YouTube videos of yours truly doing exactly that: Video 1 | Video 2